LA06: The Red Thread of Promise
Plot The beginning part shows Ai collecting dried up leaves and letting them go in the stream. In the mortal world, a young woman, Sachi Samata eagerly waits for her computer to connect to Hell Correspondence. When it appears, she types in 'Mako'. However, Mako calls her and she knows that Sachi cursed her. The next day, Sachi goes to visit Mako, who lives in an abandoned ware-house near the train tracks, and Mako insults her for believing in Hell Correspondence. Mako then asks if she is being obstructive and demands to know what she did to Sachi. Mako then decides to punish her by cutting Sachi's wrist with a piece of glass. Mako informs that they are still friends, but she gets to punish Sachi for being bad, and she comforts her by singing. In a flashback, Sachi was sexually assaulted by her tutor at a young age, and she ran away to the abandoned ware-house, where she met Mako. Sachi tells Mako what happened and Mako suggested her to kill her tutor. They do kill him by pushing him down an outdoor stairway. Mako made two red braids for their wrists, reminding them of their friendship. Back in the present, Ai watches from a distance with an odd look on her face. At Sachi's school, the young woman bumps into a tennis player, Tsuneo Minegi, who apologizes, and offers his towel to clean herself up, and goes back to his game. Sachi delightedly sniffs the young man's scent from the towel, but then Mako calls, and Sachi runs away, running past Ai. The three assistants notice Sachi's trouble with men and ask their mistress about Mako's judgement, but she doesn't answer. In her bedroom, Mako cuts up Sachi's bras, and cursing at her for meeting the young man. That evening, Mako meets with the young man, Minegi. Back in her bedroom, Sachi looks at the destruction that Mako caused and sees that the towel is torn apart. Then, Ai appears and gives Sachi the black straw doll. Ai gives her usual speech about the things yet to come, if Sachi pulls the string, and she also warns her of the consequences. Now, Sachi must make her decision. The next day, Sachi is stopped by a counselor, and she takes her to the principal. The principal informs her that there was an incident between her and Minegi at the karaoke box the other night. Sachi, however, says that she wasn't there, and she never met with Minegi. Sachi calls Mako and angrily states of what happened at school, but Mako says she did for Sachi's own good. Sachi has had enough and tares off the red braid from her wrist and takes out the black straw doll. However, she doesn't pull the string and begins to cry. Awhile later, Sachi gets a call from her teacher that Minegi was pushed down the stairs and is in a coma. Sachi goes to Mako and angrily yells at her for what she did. Mako states that she didn't want Minegi to take Sachi away, because they're friends. Sachi is finally fed up and takes out the doll, and pulls the string. Ai prepares herself for her mission and goes out to collect Mako. Believing that she is finally free of Mako, Sachi is stopped by the three assistants and show her a mirror. In the past, Sachi was harassed by her tutor and wanted another part of her to stop him and "Mako" is her illusion. It is revealed that Sachi has dissociative identity disorder; "Mako" became part of Sachi's life and grew stronger as time went by. However, "Mako" became upset when Sachi meet Minegi, believing that she will disappear forever, if Sachi fell in love with him. Sachi doesn't believe this and then Ai appears and reveals one flashback. Sachi became "Mako" and met with Minegi and took him to the karaoke box. She then faked his attempt to rape her and later, she pushed him down the stairway. Sachi is heart-wrenched that she committed the crimes all along and then "Mako" appears. She holds her in her arms and Ai teleports them to her boat. On the way to hell, "Mako" sings to Sachi and Ai watches and ferries them to hell. However, awhile later, it is revealed that Ai took away Mako and Sachi still lives in the mortal world. The three assistants think that Ai did it by doing the right contract. Sachi, however, must face the troubles ahead, but it looks like she is relived of Mako's temptations, and she reveals the black fire symbol on her chest. Trivia * This is a confusing episode, as it shifts between Sachi and Mako. It deals with dissociative identity disorder, a common condition found among abused or harassed victims. Category:Episodes (LA)